Friday, December 19, 2008

National Tiger Conservation Authority

National Tiger Conservation Authority

Press Release

Ministry of Environment and ForestsWednesday, December 17, 2008Press Information BureauGovernment of India

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Project Tiger in the mission towards protection of Tigers have different roles as per mandate entrusted.The National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it under the said Act. ‘Project Tiger’ is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, providing funding support to tiger range States, for in-situ conservation of tigers in designated tiger reserves.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority has been successful in fulfilling its mandate within the ambit of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for strengthening tiger conservation in the country by retaining an oversight through advisories/normative guidelines, based on appraisal of tiger status, ongoing conservation initiatives and recommendations of specially constituted Committees. Project Tiger has put the endangered tiger on an assured path of recovery by saving it from extinction, as revealed by the recent findings of the All India tiger estimation using the refined methodology. This independent report also highlights the achievement of Project Tiger by showing that viable tiger population exists only in Project Tiger areas under the jurisdiction of Project Tiger, while outside populations are highly depleted.

Based on enabling provisions made in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, through an amendment in 2006, the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) have already been constituted and operationalised. Further, through the said amendment, the penalty for offences relating to tiger reserves has also been enhanced. Funding support to tiger reserves is provided under the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger, which includes protection and antipoaching operations. Since day-to-day management of Tiger Reserve is done by States, details of action taken against individual poachers are not collated at Government of India level.

Minister of Sate for Evironment and Forests Shri S.Regupathy replied in written questions by Shri Vijayendra Pal Singh.